X is for XFiles
by campylobacter
Summary: Missing scene & episode tag to "Memento Mori": Lam clears Vala for active duty, then the Team celebrate at a BBQ joint.
1. An Uncanny Resemblance

"The debonair bald gentleman," she said, tapping her finger on the monitor, "is General Hammond, whom I clearly recall pointing a _zat_ at on the bridge of the Prometheus before I ringed him to the _al kesh_ I d appropriated. Although he bears an uncanny resemblance to Agent Scully s father from _The X-Files_."

"And are there any recent negative associations tied to this memory, as with your observation that Colonel Carter looks like another_ X-Files_ character who was murdered?" Carolyn kept her face neutral while inwardly resolving to re-watch the relevant homemade VHS tapes of episodes she d recorded during her fellowship at the CDC.

"Oh no, Scully s father wasn t murdered; he was a dedicated, attentive parent." Vala s brow furrowed at a deeper, more personal memory she seemed to withhold from telling the doctor. "However, can you imagine the scandal if Colonel Caldwell who s the very likeness of Scully s boss of the _Daedalus_ were to actually wake up in a hotel room with a tall, gorgeous, but dead blonde whose head was wrenched one hundred eighty degrees round on her neck "

"How did you obtain information about Colonel Caldwell and the _Daedalus_?"

Vala s look of surprise gave way to a wince of contrition. "May I invoke doctor-patient confidentiality on this?"

"Vala, I m filling out a psych evaluation to determine your fitness to return to active duty. You waived that confidentiality from my superiors in the form s disclaimer."

"Hmm. So I did. Well, my restored memory includes how to access mission files."

Carolyn let her direct gaze answer Vala s answer.

"Right, then. Cameron s passwords are easy to guess, unlike Daniel s foreign-language ciphers; they re NFL mascots."

"I trust you ll be advising Colonel Mitchell to abandon his password creation system."

"Of course, but to his credit he spells them backwards. I can also advise Security to adjust certain camera angles to cover the more egregious blind spots in their surveillance sweeps."

_Either lock this woman in the brig forever or let her work as a consultant_, thought Carolyn. _She knows how to know too much._

"And as long as I m confessing to seeing files they haven t yet authorized me to access, I must say that the Prior whom Cameron shot " (Carolyn began writing on the form before Vala finished her statement.) " looked like the Cigarette Smoking Man."

"From_ The X-Files_. I m sensing a pattern here." She tried keeping the sarcasm from her voice. Really tried.

"Those reruns were among the few reasons along with Sal and Bonnie that kept me from running away from the diner," Vala said quietly. "Something resonated inside me watching a strong, intelligent woman working side-by-side with a brilliant but tortured man on the noble quest for truth."

Carolyn set down her pen and looked really looked at the woman, not the subject, and saw a lost daughter in search of somewhere to belong. Maybe they did have something in common, but she refrained from speaking on the subject of fathers. "Agent Mulder is easy on the eye," she offered with a small quirk of her mouth.

"Well, so is Agent Scully." Vala cocked her head at Carolyn with a playful wink. "And do you know, I threatened to kill Weaver - the Trust operative who tortured me - with that memory device in the most painful way possible, but I swear I saw him shot to death as Agent Pendrell in the episode where that informant levitates out of an airplane." She absently rubbed the spot on her arm where a new transponder had been implanted. "Doctor, am I wonko?"

Carolyn, her face carefully placid as she signed the evaluation form, almost regretted the end of her hour-long evaluation of the pig-tailed off-worlder. "Creative cognitive association actually indicates functioning problem-solving skills and healthy pattern recognition. In other words, you and your unique thought processes seem back to normal again. It s what makes you a valuable asset to the SGC."

The worry lines around Vala s mouth deepened into a luminous grin. "So, then, I m ?"

"Yes, Vala, you re cleared for active duty." Although the CMO wasn t prepared for an enthusiastic embrace, she wasn t reticent in returning it. "It s good to have you back. I prefer delivering good news."

"And I do enjoy receiving it," Vala sighed, bouncing out of her chair. "Thank you, Doctor."

She was almost out of earshot by the time Carolyn called out, "Vala, don t forget your jacket!"


	2. Prime Number

Daniel raised his iced tea. "A toast to the necessary fifth."

"Here, here!" Various glasses were raised in chorus toward Vala.

She blushed and clinked her drink against theirs. "I'm afraid I destroy the symmetry of your even number."

"Nah," Sam assured her with a quick squeeze around her shoulders. "Five is a prime number, and pentagonal symmetry occurs throughout practically every biological system I've encountered. Also adds some really fascinating properties to the elastic stability of nanopartic-"

"Gotta have five for a regulation basketball team." Cam quickly swallowed a mouthful of microbrew to prevent a physics lecture. "See, I'm point guard, Sam's shooting guard, T's our power forward, Jackson's center-"

"And the small forward is good for free throws and steals," chuckled Landry, nudging her arm with his elbow.

"All five digits of the hand create the strongest grasp." Teal'c brandished his fork with quiet dexterity.

"Earth, water, fire, air and ether comprise the five elements of the Ayurvedic Dosha." Daniel wiped the condensation on his glass from his fingers.

"I'd rather not represent fire," Vala muttered.

"Let our powers combine! Go Planet!" Cam took another drink. "Sorry; doubt you've seen Captain Planet. Kid's cartoon."

"I've seen plenty of_ X-Files_, however. You know, Agent Mulder's sister reminds me of someone in the photo archives. Instead of dark hair, she had long, curly blonde ringlets, an oval face, large green eyes, fine, delicate features-"

"Yeah oh, yeah! Ke-" Cam, under Landry's warning glance, barely stopped himself from blurting out classified information in public, but Daniel started choking on his drink, earning double slaps on his back from Cam and Teal'c. Sam and the Jaffa exchanged a look regarding the pre-empted reference to the Destroyer of Worlds.

"I used to wonder who we'd really be without memory or other people to remind us," Vala mused. "I suppose at heart I'm a violent runaway."

"Trust me," Daniel coughed. "We don't condemn you for who you may have been in the past."

"Home is where you return at sunset," Teal'c rumbled, no doubt quoting some ancient folk wisdom.

Vala looked at the faces around her at the table, and felt less alien. She smiled at the face that had succeeded in calling her home and raised her beer in another toast. "To forgetfulness, then."


End file.
